Thank you, Chrysops, nice to get a confirmation on the ID. I'm not sure having a dog is mandatory, but it is a great reason to wander around the woods! As to how I did it, I took the entire leaf with the specimen. Placed them in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, then took scissors to trim the leaf a...

Thanks very much abpho!

Thanks for the ID NU. I ordered the book you recommended, (Arnett's American Insects) but it has yet to arrive. Hopefully soon I'll be able to not be so dependent on your seemingly endless knowledge and patience!
Best,
Frank

While walking the dog this morning, I noticed that the leaves of the Thimbleberry (Rubus Parviflorus) were being eaten. After spending some time looking under the leaves, I found this guy. (3mm) Is he the culprit?

Thanks Rik, both for your kind comment as well as the ID. Certainly appears to be the same as the "bug guide pool party". My problem with Coleoptera is that when I start leafing through the guides, I see so many really neat beetles that I get completely side tracked!
regards,
Frank

Thanks Chris, Just when you think you are starting up the learning curve, you find another slippery steep part!

This guy was crawling across the street in front of my house, I figured better in the studio than flat... Here is the whole beetle (8mm) http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/userpix/4680_forForumbeetleforID_1.jpg and the "head shot" http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/userpix/4680_waterdropsonbee...

Thanks for the link Rik, I thought that I had read this, but now it all comes back to me
regards,
Frank

Hi Chris, thanks for your comment. I briefly considered the idea, but I was concerned about losing textural detail. That plus the fact that I don't have the necessary polarizers

Thanks MaxRockbin,
appreciate your comments! I think I'd rather be making payments on my camera gear than a Ferrari (though I wouldn't mind a Toyota 4Runner...shiny or not!)

Some times referred to as Cyanide Millipedes, these guys have a very effective chemical defense system! Their high gloss exoskeleton is a challenge to light, this took many tries to get to this point, and there is still a lot of room for improvement, in my opinion! http://www.photomacrography.net/fo...

Hi Rik,
The mouth parts made me think "stink bug", as did the "pits" on the body. The body shape is very elongated, relative to other stink bugs I've been seeing no "shield shape", and he is sooo tiny...

This little guy (4mm) was busily crawling in and out of the shingles on the side of my house. Fearing that he might have been up to no good (from the perspective of my house), I thought that we might have a photo shoot... http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/userpix/4680_fprForumUnknownshingledwell...

The bugs are out!!! These guys are all over my yard now...

Thanks Rik, both for your comments as well as fielding the question from Carmen. Burning does seem to be a fairly easy fix for halo as long as you have a black background. I find I have a lot more difficulty with a light back ground. I suspect that a greater fluency in "photoshop" would help. I am a...